The Crazy Dog Lady

It has been quite a year! On November 16, 2012 we welcomed Bruce into our home as a foster. As you might remember, he was sitting on "doggie death row" and he was out of options. Through the amazing networks of Facebook, we found all of this out and sprung that boy out. Read the post, First Foster  for the full story. After Bruce, there came Mindy , Lola and then Louie and here are 20 things I've learned from this crazy year of fostering. It IS as hard as it seems Some dogs are just meant to stay Some dogs are just meant to go Be sensitive to each dog's needs Embrace the good times and learn from the bad The good always outweighs the bad There is a switch that you keep off in order to not completely bond with the foster Once that switch gets turned on you're screwed and you're so going to keep that dog The dog is the one that lets you flip that switch These dogs know what you are doing for them Even if they chew up a few pairs of your favorite

Seriously, someone adopt this guy before I keep him for myself. It's getting harder and harder to think about letting him go!   Gaaaa! What am I going to do!? Update 12/1/13: Oops! We adopted him. Just couldn't help ourselves. He belonged with us and Bruce. Thank you for being my loyal Boo Boo! 

It's been quite a while since I've posted! I'm sure you were all just so very anxious, awaiting another post. On the edge of your seats? Sweaty with anticipation? Feeling empty and meaningless with out a recent update? Well it's been a crazy 4 or 5 weeks. I lost my job and then got a new one very quickly which means adjusting to different hours and a different commute. This is an adjustment for me, BossMan and the pups of the house. Bruce has continued his training at Petco and is still being a spaz, but he's still loved of course. I've also taken on some more responsibilities, helping out with the rescue group, St. Francis. And don't forget laundry (that is constantly in need of doing and folding, gag)! While that is all going on we are still fostering our little Louie. He is now doing fabulous after his hip surgery and is officially up for adoption! He is such a trooper and such an absolute love bug that he has really melted my heart. He likes to fin

Introducing our new foster, Louie! Louie is a Papillon (yes a small dog). I've never had a small dog in my midst. I have to admit it was shocking to be carrying around a dog or having a dog in the house that can actually REALLY fit on my lap. By all means we accept the fact the Bruce thinks he is a lap dog but we know he isn't. We just let him think it. He isn't up for adoption yet as he is recovering from hip surgery right now. He is an absolute sweet heart who loves to snuggle, hates his crate and his e-collar, and enjoys laying in the sun. I'm really enjoying my time with him and it's kind of nice to know he's not leaving at any random moment. Bruce and Louie get along marvelously and Louie really likes snuggling with his bigger foster bro. Here are some recent pictures of our tired little boy after he decided to shred apart his e-collar (he REALLY REALLY REALLY didn't like that stupid cone!)

A year ago today Bruce was picked up and taken to San Jose Animal Care Center. A year ago today BossMan and I were planning our wedding, buying a house and getting ready to start this new journey together. We had no idea that Bruce would be a part of it all. I can't imagine what was going through Bruce's head that day a year ago but I'm sure glad everything ended up the way it did. We sure love our boy. 

It's Bruce's 4th birthday today! Ok we don't really know when his birthday is but we made it up when we busted him out of the shelter last year. The shelter vet and staff guessed he must have been 3 so you do the math. BossMan and I decided that 9/9/09 would be a good birthday for our sweet boy! For his birthday I took Bruce to the dog park this morning and then we stopped off at Petco for a hambone. Right now the big slug is enjoying a nap on the couch (as if he doesn't normally get to do this activity). Happy Birthday Sweet Baby... we love you!

Our sweet girl Lola has won them over. Who?  Her new family!  Lola will be leaving us for her forever home on Thursday morning. As usually it's a bittersweet feeling. I don't want to let her go for all of those selfish reasons but I am so very happy for her to have a home that will spoil her to no end. She deserves the best.  Just like all of the dogs in these shelters all over the place, Lola deserves a fabulous and loving life and I feel so lucky to be that first stepping stone for her. I will be that stepping stone for as many more dogs as BossMan and Bruce will let me because when something is your passion, why stop? It's a passion for seeing the love in their eyes and feeling my heart melt with every kiss and big doggie smile. It's selfish but at least I can admit it.  So we have 2 more days with our little beef cake and we are going to make the most of it before we send her off to her new life.  Love you Lola...

Lola is on a date with a potential adopter as I type! This adopter has an Olde English Bulldogge named Clayton who is a big goof ball and sure is giving her a run for her money. How does it feel Lola to get bugged non-stop? Oh now you know how your foster bro feels! They seem to like each other but will need to learn how to play a little more gentle since poor Clayton has early onset hip-displasia. He sure doesn't let that slow him down though! Wish us luck! We are home now and this is what all that rough housing did to our crazy girl! I don't think we've ever seen her sleeping before (not an exaggeration)!

Who graduated from his Level 1 Adult dog class this evening?   This guy! Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks? Well he's not that old but he sure acts like an old man sometimes!  He passed with flying colors and I couldn't be more proud! He performed all of his commands without any mistakes. Trainer J was very impressed and of course that made me glow!! We have a good boy on our hands.  Next Monday is the beginning of Level 2. Wish us luck!

I really never thought I would see the day. But I did and it was magical. When we were all in Colorado last month I watched Bruce walk right into his crate and lay down. I wasn't enticing him with his dinner or throwing any high-value treats in there either. He just went right in and took a nap. I about fell over in my chair, trying to get up to grab my camera to take a picture without spilling my beer! And ever since we've been home and had Lola the crate has sat in our dining room with the door open. Bruce seemed to figure out that it's actually relaxing in there and he can get a real good nap in when used. I credit this sudden acceptance (slaying of the Big Bad Crate Monster) to two factors. First off, before our trip I started feeding Bruce in the crate. I would slide his food bowl all the way in the back of the crate so he had to climb all the way in to get his food. This got him more and more comfortable with being inside. I never shut the door on him but I d

Meet Lola... the sweetest girl you'll meet. She has lots of energy when she needs to and will curl up and snuggle when it clearly time for a nap. She is ready to please at all times. She loves exploring and going on long walks. She is great on the leash and is always very attentive to her walker. She's not the biggest fan of small dogs but dogs her own size and bigger she loves to play with and play she does! She will need daily walks and will need to have lots of her own toys to entertain her. Her favorite toys are tennis balls, a treat-filled Kong and a Nylabone! This good girl is completely crate trained and will go in her crate with no fuss. She would appreciate a treat for her troubles though! We recommend crating her if she will be in the house by herself. Someone's ready for a walk!   Snuggle time with foster bro!  

This Crazy Dog Lady is going to bring a little controversy into your Friday. I'm going help you understand why I am the Crazy Dog Lady and not just the Dog Lady. I'm going to write about something that I am very passionate about but I usually keep it quiet since it can piss people off. I understand that not everyone agrees with me and that is completely fine. We all have our opinions and beliefs. I just hope that by getting this out it might inspire a few people to change their minds or future actions. For us dog people, there is almost nothing better than bringing home a puppy, going to the pet store and getting him everything he needs to set him up in his new home. He is cute and cuddly. He is a big ball of adorable energy. His family just can't handle all of the cuteness. Then he starts growing into his big floppy ears and starts getting bigger. It gets harder to give him as much attention as they used to and walks with him become less common. They are just busy &quo

Well I learned something new about Bruce on Monday night, during dog training. He's a spaz... oh wait I already knew that! BUT the reason, according to the trainer, is he is a dominant dog. Oh no! The horror! When the trainer told me this I was shocked! I mean, our Bruce. Dominant. Our Bruce, the biggest baby and mommas boy, dominant? How is that possible? So I decided to do some research on what that really means. And before anyone freaks out... dominant does not mean aggressive or an alpha. Here are some interesting things I found out about the type of dominant dog Bruce is during my little research sesh... Again, Dominance does not mean aggression. Actually, a lot of times a bite and attack comes from a dog being uncomfortable and nervous, not dominant. Wanting to be ahead during walks and not letting go of toys are 2 signs of dominance that Bruce shows. A dog can be dominant in some situations but not dominant in other situations. Let me re-phrase, a dominant dog does

Meet Lola, our new foster girl! It's been a month and a half since we sent Mindy off to her forever home. While we appreciated our time with just Bruce since then, we knew there was still a big need for foster homes for these pups. And as usual, things just kind of fell into place like they were meant to be. Our amazing connection with the rescue group let us know about a sweet pittie girl that needed some help. I was all over it but just needed to "convince" BossMan. Hahaha "convince" is not the right word but you get the idea! We were all introduced to Lola 2 days ago, just over 12 hours from getting home from our big road trip. I think I was numb from lack of sleep but Lola was just what the doctor ordered. She brings an instant smile to whoever encounters her. She will warm your heart in 10 seconds flat with her stocky little build, wiggly butt and smile. The best part is that Lola and Bruce dig each other. Well actually... Lola REALLY loves Bruce a

Gaaaa! We are finally home from our road trip! We hit a little bit of a snag in our travels home and ended up stuck in Richfield, Utah for 3 nights. BossMan's beloved truck decided to act up and extend our vacation. Bruce adapted nicely to the KOA we ended up staying at and I'm pretty sure he would have made that place home if he needed to. I was starting to think we were going to HAVE to call it home, as scary as that is to think about. P.S. If you followed the link from Facebook or Pinterest click HERE first and read the previous posts about our trip to Colorado. Any who, here are the pictures and such from our trip! Scroll down!       Bruce's gash from the Horse Encounter